Wall base moldings are commonly used where a wall meets a floor to provide a neat and acceptable appearance at the wall-floor juncture. Moldings are made from a variety of materials, using a variety of methods. One commonly used type of molding is made from a polymeric material, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) that is extruded in a well known process. Extruded PVC molding is typically a cost effective building material that can be provided in an array of colors and styles.
Moldings are also used to hide an abundance of imperfections and inconsistencies in a wall finish. That is, where walls are not finished to the floor, low spots, wall openings, and the like could otherwise be visible without the use of a base molding. In many instances, it may also be advantageous to position narrow gauge cabling, such as telephone wiring between a molding and the wall to reduce or eliminate what could otherwise be an unsightly appearance.
Various types of extruded moldings, both permanent and removable are known in the art. Those skilled in the art will recognize that permanent types of moldings have a variety of drawbacks. First, permanent moldings cannot be easily removed. Typically, these moldings are affixed to the wall using an adhesive, which upon removing the molding from the wall, will often remove a portion of the wall with the molding. Even if the molding is removed without damaging the wall, the adhesive may be so well adhered to the wall, that in removing the remaining adhesive, the wall becomes damaged. Moreover, if the molding requires replacement due to age or damage, or a change in color is desired, these same problems are encountered.
In addition, when painting, it is necessary to carefully tape or otherwise protect moldings so that cleanup is minimized or reduced. The time needed to protect such moldings can be time consuming, labor intensive and costly.
One known type of removable molding includes a mechanical hook and loop fastening system, such as VELCRO.RTM. brand strips to mount the molding to the wall. In such an arrangement, one of the portions or strips of the fastening system is affixed to the wall and the other is affixed to the molding. The molding is then mounted to the wall by joining the fastening strips to one another. Although this type of system is adequate to mount the molding to the wall, the molding requires proper alignment to assure that the molding is properly mounted to the wall. In addition, most consumers will recognize that these mechanical hook and loop fastening strips may not maintain a tight "fit" of the molding to the wall, and can lose their effectiveness over time, particularly when subjected to dust, lint and like debris.
Accordingly, there is a need for a removable wall base molding system that permits ready installation. Desirably, such a system is provided in a two-part assembly that is self-aligning when installed. Most desirably such a system maintains a strong, structurally sound mounting of the molding to the wall, and permits the installation of small gauge cabling or wires between the molding and the wall to reduce or eliminate unsightly, visible wiring.